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With thunder rumbling and rain pouring down, Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah cruised to the lead early and easily won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

The brilliant 3-year-old colt was never seriously challenged after shaking off long-shot Mr. Z and won by seven lengths to set up the ultimate drama in racing - a Triple Crown attempt at the Belmont Stakes in three weeks in New York.

"Great horses do great things," Baffert said after his sixth Preakness victory, "and he showed that today. He's just an incredible horse."

American Pharoah, who started from the rail under Victor Espinoza, will be 14th Derby-Preakness winner to take a shot at becoming the first to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont since Affirmed in 1978.

For Baffert, he'll be taking an unprecedented fourth shot at racing's most coveted prize. He won the Derby and Preakness with Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002. All three fell short in the Belmont.

"I don't even want to think about the Triple Crown right now,' the 62-year-old trainer said. "I want to enjoy this. It's tough up there."

A rainstorm began about 15 minutes before the race went off, preceded by several lightning bolts, but it didn't affect American Pharoah, a sweet-striding 3-year-old. The colt dealt with similar conditions in winning the Rebel Stakes in March.

The dominating win confirmed owner Ahmed Zayat's belief that American Pharoah is a champion in the making.

"I always told everybody American Pharoah would show up today," said Zayat, drenched after his trip to the winner's circle. "Indeed he did. He is the real deal."

American Pharoah may have only half a tail and sensitive ears that Baffert stuffs with cotton, but he's pretty close to perfection. Bought back at auction by Zayat for $300,000, American Pharoah earned $900,000 for the win to boost his winnings to $3.7 million.

A Triple Crown is priceless.

"He put on a show today," said Zayat, a businessman from Egypt who lives in Teaneck, New Jersey. "Nobody came close to him."

Espinoza played his role well, too. His horse in the previous race was scratched when he reared up in the starting gate and fell, but Espinoza wasn't bothered by the incident.

In fact, he became the first jockey to have a third try at a Triple Crown. Espinoza won the Derby and Preakness with War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome last year, but fell short in the Belmont.

"I hope the third one is the charm," Espinoza said.

With a record crowd of 131,680 crammed into Pimlico Race Course, American Pharoah broke a step slow before Espionza hustled him to the lead. He then fended off a brief bid from Mr. Z, while American Pharoah's stablemate, Dortmund, and Derby runner-up Firing Line weren't factors.

"He didn't like the sloppy track," said Dortmund's rider, Martin Garcia. "He didn't come out good from the gate. He didn't like the mud in his face."

Simon Callaghan, who trained Firing Line, said the horse lost all chance when he stumbled a stride out of the gate.

"That took his momentum and then he never really got hold of the track," Callaghan said.

American Pharoah comes into the 1 1/2-mile Belmont with a six-race winning streak. His margin of victory in the 1 3-16th-mile Preakness was the largest since Smarty Jones won by a record 11 1/2 lengths in 2004. It matched the sixth-largest margin in Preakness history.

Tale of Verve was a distant second, followed by Divining Rod, Dortmund, Mr. Z, Danzig Moon, Firing Line and Bodhisattva. The winning time was a slow 1:58.46.

American Pharoah was sent off as the 4-5 favorite and returned $3.80, $3.40 and $2.80. Tale of Verve returned $19 and $8.80, and Divining Rod paid $5.20.

"It went very well," Espinoza said. "He bounced out of there. He broke a little tiny bit slow and I pushed him to the front."

And now it's on to the Belmont, also known as the Test of the Champion.

"He just skips through everything," Baffert said. "He's that kind of horse. A wet track. A dry track. These horses can make excuses, but if they are ready to run and he fires, you win."

Winning trainer Bob Baffert (American Pharoah): “What a day for Baltimore. They really needed this after all they’ve been through. I’m really happy for them. I just love coming here.”

“He’s just an amazing horse. Everyone talks about the greatness and it’s just starting to show now. To me, they have to prove it. Today the way he did it, he just ran so fast. Iit was like poetry in motion.”

Winning jockey Victor Espinoza (American Pharoah): “I was freezing. I was just so wet. It worked out well. I had to bounce out of the gate to take the lead with all the rain.

(On race strategy): “All changed with the rain, but it worked out well.“I took a chance and sent him as quick as I can. Sometimes you have to make decisions. That's my job. Today, I made the right decision.

(On his third attempt at sweeping the Triple Crown): “I hope the third one is the charm.”

Trainer Dallas Stewart (Tale of Verve, 2nd): “What a horse. I had no idea where he was in the race. He’s a tremendous horse. He’s getting better all the time. Congratulations to the winner. We will see him at Belmont. I think this validated what he is. He’s an improving horse. It was a wonderful run.”

Jockey Joel Rosario (Tale of Verve, 2nd): “I had a good trip, perfect trip. The further we went he kept picking it up. It was a great race for him. He ran a very big race.”

Trainer Arnaud Delacour (Divining Rod, 3rd): “We are very happy with that, being third in a Grade 1 in the Preakness. He was right there with a great trip, and thanks for (Javier) Castellano for that, because he gave him a great ride.”

Jockey Javier Castellano (Divining Rod, 3rd): “It was quite a bit tougher for us today under these conditions than it should have been.”

Trainer Bob Baffert (Dortmund, 4th): “I was hoping he’d show a little more. I was afraid about the mud with him and his big feet.”

Jockey Martin Garcia (Dortmund, 4th): “He didn’t like the sloppy track. He didn’t come out good from the gate and he didn’t like the mud in his face. Not his best effort today.”

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas (Mr. Z, 5th): “The adverse conditions likely affected seven of eight horses. It obviously didn’t bother the winner. My horse ran very well. He was well-placed and I thought he actually might finish second. I’ve said it since March, [American Pharoah] is special, and this might be the year.”

Jockey Corey Nakatani (Mr. Z, 5th): “He ran dynamite today and did everything he could to take on the winner under the circumstances. He was in it and really ran great. That winner is a really nice horse. It was very wet, sloppy and water was everywhere. The track was in good condition, considering the water. We did everything we could against the winner, but he is a very nice horse. I had a great trip other than I felt like I should have been on a shark or a dolphin.”

Trainer Mark Casse (Danzig Moon, 6th): “I never saw him. It was pretty bad. He hasn’t stopped coughing since he came back. That happens when they eat all that stuff. God decided he wanted to rain on it, so what do you want to do? It’s just frustrating. You work and work and work to get him ready, and you just want to have a shot at a fair race. If they beat you, they beat you. Look, American Pharoah is a good horse, and I think he has a shot at the Triple Crown.”

Jockey Julien Leparoux (Danzig Moon, 6th): “It was OK, not what we needed. The horse kind of struggled out there a little bit and flattened out at the end a little bit. I don’t think the track was to his liking but other than that it was OK.”

Trainer Simon Callaghan (Firing Line, 7th): “His second jump out he stumbled badly. That took his momentum and then he never really got hold of the track. Nothing went right, what with all that rain coming. I don't know about the Belmont.”

Jockey Gary Stevens (Firing Line, 7th): “We stumbled out of the gate and that was our race today.”

Owner/trainer Jose Corrales (Bodhisattva, 8th): “He didn’t try. One morning in training, behind other horses in the rain I ran him and he didn’t even try. Same today. I was praying he wouldn’t be behind, but he was behind from the start. It wasn’t the race we were expecting. The race was like nothing, but life goes on. We tried and I hope we are in this position again, but at the front end next time.”

Jockey Trevor McCarthy (Bodhisattva, 8th): “He just spun his wheels out there today. He never could get a hold of it. He was really crazy out there at first. In the middle of the race the weather actually started to settle down. Today just wasn’t his day. On a normal day, he would have been closer. He was just hard to handle.”